WE HAD TO CANCEL

We figured a two week postponement would be enough, but it wasn't.  As for me, I'm better, but Cathie hasn't seen much improvement.  She is still very congested with a deep cough and now congestion in her head.  Because of this she is very weak and has trouble breathing with any simi-heavy activity, such as walking.

So I've cancelled our flight and all our reservations.  Now we'll find out if our trip insurance is any good.  Soon we will start planning for next year, as we're gonna do this.  Next year there will be no visits to the emergency room anywhere close to our departure time.  And I was really looking forward to not hearing anything about the election for two months.

But not wanting to sit still for too long, as soon as Cathie is up to it, we'll hook up the RV and head out.  I'll put this blog to rest for awhile, but as usual you will be able to follow along on Gassaways Adventures.   Till then......

A POSTPONEMENT

That's right we had to postpone.  This past Monday, Cathie was returning from the desert when she called me and told me she was in extreme pain, was throwing up and couldn't drive the rest of the way home.  So son Eric and I came to the rescue.  From what she was describing, we both figured she had a kidney stone, so off the the emergency room.  Turns out our diagnosis was correct and after spending 8 hours in the emergency room, the stone had migrated to her bladder and they sent her home.

NOW THAT'S A STONE!

But that's not all.  We spent 8 hours in the emergency room, 3 of which was in the waiting room with the rest of the sickies.  We both were exposed to just about every disease known to man and by Friday we were both hacking and coughing like the rest of those folks back at the E/R.  So off the the doctor who supplied us with the usual medications and sent us home to recuperate. We hoped that by morning we would be on the mend and would be able to leave the following evening.  It was not to be and we decided to postpone Our Camino by two weeks.

What a pain in the a$$ changing our flights, reservations in Madrid, train tickets and more.  We lost our B&B in Madrid but have managed to change everything else, we hope.  We had to pay a bunch more to change our flights, but luckily we have trip insurance. 

ALMOST A POSTPONEMENT, BUT NOW WE'RE READY

Well boys and girls, here's the last post before leaving in one week to start Our Camino.  I've actually had several queries from some of you as to when the next post would be, so here goes.

There have been a few hiccups in our training and with some of our equipment.  Turns out that after a week or two of walking with her Osprey back pack, Cathie started experiencing some back pain.  We tried all the usual adjustments, but it wasn't working so we headed back to REI.  She ended up with a 45 liter Deuter pack and it seems to be working well for her as the back pain has disappeared.  Both of our packs have a hydration bladder inside to allow us to drink from a tube as we walk.  We like this option best as it's difficult to remove a water bottle from a side pocket with the packs on.  So with 1.5 liters of water and just about everything we plan on taking with us, Cathie's pack weighs in at 19 pounds and mine at 21 pounds.  Some might say this is a tad bit heavy, but it's the same weight I carried last year without any problems.

The scallop shell on my pack is a symbol of the Camino.  There are several legends about the shell and one goes like this:  After Saint James' death, his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago.  Off the coast of Spain a heavy storm hit the ship, and the body was lost to the ocean.  After some time, the body washed ashore undamaged, covered in scallops.  It is also believed, by some, that the lines in the shell leading to a point, represent all the different pilgrim routes leading to one place, Santiago.

Speaking of a storm, Cathie had another issue during our training.  After a recent storm, yes a storm in Southern California, a very large tree was toppled over across our normal training route. While climbing over the downed tree, Cathie hyper-extended both knees outward.  At first she didn't even know she injured herself, but a couple of days later she was in extreme pain.  She was hobbling around doing the Camino Shuffle, a condition suffered by pilgrims when starting out each morning.  Off to the doctor who told her, only time will make the pain go away, time and a Cortisone injection in each knee.  At first she was feeling no improvement and we were considering postponing our departure for a couple of weeks.  That would have created many problems with reservations, some which we couldn't re-schedule.  We were within in a couple of days of postponing when Cathie's nurse suggested the use of knee braces.  There was a big improvement and now with another 2 weeks  of recuperation she is pain free and we're a go.

I also had a problem with plantar fasciitis in my left foot, but some new insoles recommended by my podiatrist seems to have rectified the situation.  You know what they say about pain at our age?  The pain is there to let you know that you are still alive.

I've been following the weather and it's been iffy over the Pyrenees.  Apparently there has been lots of snow this year.  If the high route over the mountains is still closed when we start, we'll opt for the lower pass.  Here's a photo taken a couple of weeks ago of the lower pass, the one with less snow.

This second photo was taken in Roncesvalles, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees at the bottom of the pass.  The pilgrim pictured is obliviously a Canadian.

On April 3rd we will hop aboard our flight to Madrid where we will recoup for two nights before heading by train to Pamplona and the start of the Camino.  So following along and feel free to share our blog with others.

56 DAYS TO GO, THE TRAINING HAS BEGUN

We're in training mode, 7.5 miles, 3 days a week.  I continue to ride my  bike 2 to 3 days a week, 42 miles each time.  We also breaking in new boots and Cathie's new pack.

OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW

Cathie tried four different packs and with the help of the folks at REI she settled on a 36 liter Osprey in a color she approved of.  Gotta have the right color, because a girl has to look her best.  Since December we've been outfitting Cathie as she needed just about everything in the way of lightweight clothes, boots and rain gear.  As for me, all that was needed were the new boots and socks.

Since I've done this before, the getting there and back part was easy.  British Air to Madrid with a change in London, booked. B&B for two nights in Madrid, booked. Train from Madrid to Pamplona, Booked.  Overnight near Pamplona with pick up at the train station and transportation to the starting point in Saint Jean Pied de Port, booked.  Return flight from Santiago de Compostela to Madrid, booked.  Hotel near the airport in Madrid, Booked.  And finally our return flight home is also booked.  Since we have a total of 56 days, about 10 of the last days will be used to take a look at Portugal, somewhere we've never been.  Because we don't have a definite date for arrival in Santiago, the Portugal portion of the trip will be on the fly.

For a new wrinkle, we will be taking a carry on suitcase for "after Camino clothes"  It will travel with us to Madrid where we will mail it to a guy in Santiago who will hang on to it until we get there, we hope.

TRAINING DAY

There is a San Diego Chapter of the American Pilgrims on the Camino and I've met up with some of them for a couple of hikes in the San Diego area.  On this day we were hiking in the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve in Poway.  Great group of people, most of whom have already walked the Camino , some more than once.  

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So, we leave April 3rd and I hope you all follow along by putting your e-mail address in the box on the top right.  By doing this you will receive notification each time I post.  I will continue to post on Facebook and send an e-mail.  For those on my manual e-mail list, remember that last year I had difficulty with Cox Web Mail and many times my e-mails were not sent.  So, be brave and stick your e-mail address in the little box.

Oh, and remember, comments and questions are always encouraged and welcome.  If you do comment you can do so by clicking on the anonymously button in comments, thus eliminating the need to open a Google Account.  But put your name in the comment somewhere so I know who you are.